North Sydney Bears U14A’s, were officially crowned Football NSW State Champions today by deservedly defeating Burwood 2-1 in extra time of the Champion of Champions Grand Final in front of a very good crowd on a very wet day at Valentine Park.
For a full photo gallery from the match - click here
The squad announced for the Final was as follows :
Goalkeeper : Conor Mumford
Defenders : Phil Boceski, Anthony Hofstaetter, Richard D’Annunzio, Alessandro Riggio and Cooper McCarthy
Midfielders : Christian Calderan, Matthew Timms, Jack Osborn, Joe Costa and Alex Harizanov
Forwards : Lorenzo Icardi, Monique Andreatta, Alfie Tagliaferro, Eddie Wills and Daniel Attanasio
It was a game where our boys played nice triangles and short passes thoughout the game and where we set he game’s rythym while Burwood’s game relied mainly on using the long ball to try and take advantage of their superior physical strength.
Our boys dominated possession in the first half but were unable to create many clear cut chances and were unlucky to go behind just before half time when a Burwood freekick was not properly cleared by our defence, with a resultant shot looping over our goalkeeper.
We came out in determined fashion in the second half and completely dominated the game for long stretches, playing the ball around at a faster rythym than in the first half. Despite creating many good opportunities, we had to wait until 7 minutes before the end to equalise when Joe Costa scored in great style from a direct freekick. We could have finished the game off after this as we beseiged the Burwood goal but could not score a well merited winner.
With the game finishing at 1-1 after normal time, it went into extra time – where golden goal would decide the winner.
After a relatively quiet first half ,the second half of extra time was a tense affair with both sides creating chances to win the game. With the seconds ticking away and a penalty shoot out again looming, a good pass by Christian found Alfie on the left hand side of the Burwood box. Alfie cut in past a Burwood defender with his left foot and then hit a right footed low shot into the bottom corner of the net to give us a much deserved win.
So a fantastic win for our squad, many of whom have only trained and played together at the Milan Academy for the last two years. To be crowned Football NSW Champions after such a relatively short time together is a fantastic effort and bodes well for this squad in the future.
The squad made history to be the first North Sydney Bears ever to be win a Champions of Champions title and to be the first Kurringai District under 14 team to win a NSW under 14 Champion of Champions title.
Congratulations to all the players whose hard work together got us to be NSW Champions – a very hearty congratulations to our coaches Andrea Icardi and Frankie Gigliotti, to Rosie Clarke for working so hard and to Paul Templeman, the North Sydney Bears President for always supporting us and putting his faith in the Milan Academy to represent North Sydney Bears.
And of course a very big thank you and well done to all parents for making their childrens' dreams of being part of such a squad and such a wonderful occassion a reality.
Today capped what has been a truly marvellous and historic season for all players and coaches involved and a wonderful year for the Milan Academy and North Sydney Bears with many significant milestones achieved.
Our road to victory was as follows :
Beat Griffith..........5-0 ( Alfie 2, Matthew Timms, Eddie and Christian)
Beat Barden .........4-0 ( Jack Osborn 2,Christian and Eddie)
Beat Wakehurst.....1-0 ( Alfie )
Beat Burwood........2-1 ( Joe Costa and Alfie )
FORZA MILAN and the NORTH SYDNEY BEARS !!
Article courtesy of http://www.acmilansoccerschool.com.au/